Spartans just come up short against Revolution
HALTON SPARTANS .......................... 14 SHROPSHIRE REVOLUTION............ 24
THE Spartans played their second game of the season with a home encounter at the Select Security Stadium against Shropshire Revolution.
For the Spartans it was back to back showdowns against the Revolution, and having lost to them 39-10 in their season-opener, the Spartans were looking to make amends.
In front of 200 loud and proud Spartan fans the home side’s kick return team took to the field to start the game and following a good return by Charlie Nash, the first drive commenced.
The Revolution defence stood strong in this first passage of play and subsequent drives in the first quarter with the Spartans punting on a number of occasions.
Following the first game Spartans defensive coordinator Simon Grice made a number of adjustments and.
This proved to be decisive on the field and the Spartans defence did not allow the Shropshire offence to gain many yards or first downs.
Rookie Josh Jackson also forced a turnover.
The only points put on the board in a defence-dominated opening quarter was a successful field goal by the Revolution.
The start of the second quarter saw the Spartans offence spring into life with some great running by Alex Martin and Martin Murphy, which saw them march up field on a number of drives.
Eventually, Murphy rumbled into the end zone for a touchdown and following Matty Fitzsimons’s successful one-point conversion it was now 7-3 to the hosts.
The Spartans’ defence continued to ● dominate the Revolution offence, the highlight of which was an interception by Billy Forest and the sides headed into half-time with the scoreline still 7-3 in Halton’s favour.
Following the half-time break, it was clear the Revolution’s team of coaches made some pivotal adjustments as the third quarter turned out to be one the Spartans would rather forget.
The Revolution offence finally clicked into gear scoring three unanswered touchdowns to blow the contest open in their favour 24-7.
The final stanza started much brighter for the Spartans with Tom Ross stripping the ball from the Revo- lution’s offence.
This allowed the Spartans’ offence to take the field and put together a great drive that culminated in quarterback Rik Lothion connecting with teammate Tim Parr for a 20-yard pass that saw the wide receiver scamper 30 yards down the side-line for a great touchdown.
Fitzsimons tacked on the point after and it was now a 10-point contest.
The Spartans’ defence completely dominated the Revolution offence in the fourth quarter forcing them a number of three and outs, and with four minutes remaining on the clock the Halton offence drove to the Shrop- ● shire one-yard line.
Following some great blocking by the line, running back Craig Owen scampered through to score what the Spartans thought was a touchdown only for the call to be made that his knee was down before entering the end zone.
Following this, the Spartans’ offence struggled to regain its composure, and following a couple of false starts they were marched back up field and saw the time slipping away.
Despite their best efforts the Spartans were unable to cross into the end zone allowing the Revolution offence to return to the field and run the clock down until the end.
All in all, it was a much better performance from the Spartans and it was clear to see the reason the Revolution are currently sitting unbeaten at the top of the NFC Two South Conference with a 4-0 record.
The Spartans can certainly take a lot of positives from the game as they now shift their focus to prepare for a trip this Sunday afternoon to Crewe Railroaders, where they will be doing all they can to get that elusive first win of the season.
The Spartans’ MVPs on the day against the Revolution were Alex Martin (offence), Josh Jackson (defence) and Charlie Nash (special teams).